2023 | A positive memorial

Leeds 2023

Leeds 2023 Year of Culture is a celebration of creativity and culture, inspired by a bid to become European Capital of Culture that was sunk by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

The events are designed to create new opportunities, break down barriers to access and make Leeds better known on the global stage. The programme is supported by physical changes to the city, including the partial pedestrianisation of its main square and the creation of a new riverside park.

David Oluwale’s story will feature prominently in Leeds 2023 as the organisers are working alongside the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA) to complete a long-awaited memorial garden.

David Oluwale memorial garden

DOMA have campaigned for a memorial garden for over a decade. The idea was the brainchild of Mahalia France, one of the first members of the DOMA committee. She thought that a garden would create a more inviting form of memorial than a plaque or sculpture alone.

In 2012, the idea was approved by Leeds City Council. John Thorpe, the City Architect, and Cllr Keith Wakefield, Leader of the Council, incorporated the idea into wider plans for the redevelopment of the south bank of the River Aire.

A year later, to celebrate becoming a charity, DOMA held a launch event at the proposed site, off Water Lane and close to where David Oluwale drowned in 1969.

Changes to council’s masterplan in subsequent years have moved the Memorial Garden a few hundred metres away from the river. It will now be sited to the south of Meadow Lane and will form part of the larger Aire Park development. The site proposed in 2012 has become the landing point of the David Oluwale bridge, which will provide pedestrian access to the park from Leeds City Centre.

Hibiscus Rising

The reimagined memorial garden will be centred on a colourful sculpture by the acclaimed artist Yinka Shonibare.

The sculpture, Hibiscus Rising, is inspired by what David Oluwale might have remembered about Nigeria. It will take the form of a 9.5 metre tall hibiscus flower, decorated in colourful batik patterns. Shonibare has said that he wants the sculpture to ‘make people go ‘Wow’ but then … make people think’ (Sonibare, 2022).

Shonibare was first approached by DOMA in 2016 and the design has been developed in line with changes to the memorial garden.

DOMA gathered community feedback on the memorial garden in a series of public events during summer 2022 and a model of the proposed artwork was displayed at The Tetley arts centre between September 2022 and January 2023.

David Oluwale Bridge

Unlike the other entries in this timeline, this one is being written about the future. But the David Oluwale Bridge is in place. The bridge was winched into place in March 2022, two months after it was confirmed the crossing would be named after David Oluwale. It was opened on 26 January 2023 with a short ceremony attended by civic leaders and members of DOMA.

Speaking about the bridge, Cllr Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said:

‘By acknowledging the city's past as we look forward to what lies ahead for Leeds, we are ensuring that we pass on the lessons we have learned to future generations while encouraging them to continue to strive for a brighter future’.

The bridge – like Hibiscus Rising and Mahalia France’s vision for the sculpture garden – has been designed as a positive memorial for David Oluwale. Taken together, these spaces and structures will incorporate David Oluwale’s memory into the future of Leeds.